| Mandrakes
- The advantages of not being seen |
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December 24, 2002
Mandrakes have always been an interesting dark eldar unit with many tactical
roles to fill (See Don Barnett's article on Mandrake Tactics.)
They are listed as an elite unit, presumably for their close combat prowess
and unique deployment rules. Mandrakes are also "shadow-skinned" which
gives them a 5+ cover save against most shooting attacks. The latest
revisions to the dark eldar codex now give them a +2 cover save modifier,
if they are actually in cover.This new ability coupled with their deployment rules makes small units of mandrakes an even more attractive option for holding or contesting table quarters. Mandrakes can avoid being shot for up to three turns by taking full advantage of their deployment abilities. Once they do deploy they can use their improved cover save ability to make it very difficult for enemy units to destroy them or dislodge them from a table quarter.
Consider that mandrakes in woods or ruins now have a 3+ cover save, which will greatly improve their survivability to enemy fire. Better yet, if you deploy mandrakes in fortified structures, or trenches they will now enjoy a 2+ cover save! Image, you can now have a whole squad where each model essentially has a shadowfield save!
Mandrakes could now make a big difference in games where taking and holding table quarters means victory. They can use their deployment abilities to appear in one of three possible quarters as needed. When they deploy they can take advantage of available cover to improve their resilience to enemy shooting. Most importantly their deployment in turn 3 will not allow your opponent much opportunity to deal with them before the game ends. Many games will last 4 to 6 turns and the mandrakes can stay out of sight much of that time.
Curiously, mandrakes might never shoot or assault in a game, yet they could help win the game simply by not being seen. The beauty of this passive approach is that over time it will force your opponents to adapt their tactics. They may have to hold one or more units in reserve specifically to deal with the mandrakes when they appear. Obviously, this will allow the remaining dark eldar army to gang up on the remaining enemy units and gain a localized superiority in firepower and numbers. Dark eldar always tend to do better in battles when they don't fight fair.
A five-man squad of mandrakes costs 75 points, which are only 5% of a 1500 point army list. For this small investment in points you can buy a unit that will almost always be assured of holding or contesting a table quarter if used passively. An even better strategy might be to take two five-man squads of mandrakes and pair off the counters for both squads as you move and deploy them. This gives you more options for taking and contesting table quarters as well as still using mandrakes to support assaults, to crossfire enemy units, or to decimate T3 non-power armored units if needed. If you need greater numbers of models for an assault, then you can deploy both squads together. Otherwise you can deploy the squads in different quarters and force your opponent to react. They had better be quick to respond though, because there will not be many turns left in the game...